Secondary Navigation

Primary Navigation

How training in health-related subjects can open up new careers

You mastered biology in high school or even college, and that fuelled your interest in human anatomy or any of the related subjects. However, while you have an interest in science, you do not relish spending countless years attending medical school and then toiling away as a resident in a hospital. Instead, your plan consists of earning a degree in the required four years and moving into a career that pays handsomely. One option to this dilemma is to work in a health-related field. Earning a four-year degree in a health-related subject can open up career opportunities in other fields.

Graduates earning degrees in any health-related subject can go two routes. The first route involves using their degree in a traditional career, such as a nurse working in nursing, or using their degree toward health-related careers. Within in the healthcare industry, numerous occupations beginning with physicians, nurses and the various technical positions function as the backbone of a hospital. Then, there are the more administrative positions. For the most part, a person earning a degree that is focused on one aspect of the healthcare industry can transition into positions after earning the requisite degree.

However, if you are at the beginning of your educational journey and you know that you do not want to be a doctor, nurse or technician within the traditional hospital or clinical setting, you could get a degree in health studies, the second route. Most universities offer a health studies degree program through their respectively named colleges. A person, in four years, could essentially earn a degree in health studies and work in any one of the following occupations:

Community development workers help communities engage in the issues that affect their lives by empowering them through active participation.

Further education teachers instruct one or multiple subjects within the grade levels in adult community centers, general or specialist colleges, prisoner and youth offender institutions, in addition to a host of other places that rehabilitate and restore people to productivity.

Health promotion specialists help people improve their health and take control over their healthcare issues.

Medical sales representatives are the link between healthcare professionals and drug companies.

Health service managers are responsible for managing hospital, general practitioner and or community health services.

The best thing about earning a health studies degree is its versatility. In addition to these career fields, a person with the appropriate certifications could apply the degree to work as an adult nurse, counselor, occupational therapist, physician associate, social worker, youth worker, or a primary graduate mental healthcare worker.

Those professionals with a degree in health studies or those with traditional health-related degrees and technical certifications can use their degree if they want to move into administration. Two occupations, medical record technician and healthcare administrator, will allow those wanting to work in careers that are not traditionally health-related with the appropriate education. For instance, medical record technician positions require no experience in taking care of patients because their main job responsibility is to maintain medical records making sure that information in the records is accurate and complete. A person wanting to work in this field only need enroll in an associates program after taking the appropriate health-related preparatory courses (math, science, biology) in high school.

Healthcare administrators, on the other hand, have more responsibilities, as they are tasked with managing a healthcare facility, which includes managing budgets and making decisions as it relates to the everyday operation of the facility. Healthcare administrators need to have at minimum a bachelor’s degree to work in an entry-level position. However, executive positions that demand a higher salary do require a master’s degree in some subject area or an MBA. Today’s academic environment has adapted to meet this demand. Full-time employees can still work while attending these programs, as many universities offer online degree programs where students can study at their convenience, for example at Maryville Online.

Students who like science but do not necessarily want to become a doctor or a nurse can earn a degree in health studies and work in any of the above fields. The degree is such that it is flexible enough to open many doors to career opportunities within the healthcare industry while allowing career advancement. Additionally, healthcare professionals who want to transition into fields that are less demanding than working directly with patients only need the requisite certification and experience. Ultimately, the healthcare industry is such that most careers have an opportunity for lateral or upward mobility into administration.